It's Baby Moo and Julie, Too! (& Links)

Today, I'm featuring Julie Flanders and her new book Baby Moo's Great Escape. If you've been by Julie's blog, you know she cares deeply about animals and works to bring attention to ways to help them. Now she's taken that love and put out her first children's book.

Without further ado, here's Baby Moo! (Man, I keep rhyming.)

Baby Moo has a dream. He wants to travel the world and sing on the stage of the Sydney Opera House! While he loves his home at Sunrise Sanctuary, it hasn’t been the same since a piglet named Nathan showed up and stole all the attention away from Moo. Jealous of the new baby, Moo decides now is the time to make his escape and pursue his dream.

But the world outside the sanctuary gates is not quite the fun and exciting place Moo imagined, and he quickly finds himself in big trouble. Moo's friends Missy the dog and Ruthie the cat rush to help him, and land in some trouble of their own.

Lost and frightened, Moo and his friends must rely on each other to find their way back home. Will they ever see Sunrise again?

Release date: September 8, 2016 from Native Ink Press

Links:

https://julieflanders.blogspot.com/p/baby-moos-great-escape.html

Add on Goodreads

Julie Flanders will donate $1 to Sunrise Sanctuary, home to Baby Moo and numerous other rescued animals, for each copy sold in September. 

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Now for some links! Bear in mind that I'm not endorsing any of these links, merely passing them along. Always do your own due diligence before submitting.

Accepting Submissions:

The Patchwork Raven is open for submissions of children's bedtime stories aimed at kids 3-9. Pays $25. Deadline September 30.

The Fantasist is open for novellas. They have a whole big list of stuff they like, so I'm going to leave it up to them, but fantasy and YA, in general, though YA is not required. 15,000-40,000 words. Pays $50. Deadline September 30.

Chicken Soup for the Soul is looking for stories matching the theme Best Mom Ever! Up to 1200 words. Pays $200. Deadline September 30.

Karen Walker is putting together an anthology called Still Me After All These Years. She's looking for contributors age 50 and over. I don't believe this will be paid, which I usually wouldn't share, but this is a passion project for her, so I agreed to share, anyway. Deadline September 30.

The Last Line is open for flash and short fiction ending with the line "It was hard to accept that from now on everyone would look at her differently." 300-5000 words. Pays $20-40. Deadline October 1.

Robert N. Stephenson is looking for submissions of speculative fiction for the anthology The Worlds of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Vol II. 4500-10,000 words. Pays AUD$100. Deadline October 15.

Disquieted Dreams Press is seeking body horror short stories for the anthology In Our Bodies. 2000-5000 words. Pays $10. Deadline October 15.

Helios is looking for fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and art. Theme for the December issue is RE_ACTED, and they're looking for stories that explore the dark side of human progression. 500-1500 words. Pays $.01/word. Deadline October 15.

Blog Hops:

The October theme for the Write Edit Publish blog hop/challenge is Constellations. Up to 1000 words. Post October 19.

Of Interest:

I thought this was interesting and helpful: Beta Reader Etiquette.

Sounds cute, doesn't it? And isn't it awesome she's donating money to Sunrise Sanctuary for all September purchases? What do you think of Baby Moo? Any of these links of interest? Anything to share? Publishing or submission news?

May you find your Muse.

Lexa & Julie's Dream Destination Blog Hop

I'm a little late to this one (though still on time, really, so no lashings necessary). There are so many places I dream of going that it's hard to narrow it down to a dream destination. You see, I always thought I'd travel the world when I grew up, yet the only place I've been outside of the United States was Tijuana, Mexico when I was 18 years old. We basically went there to underage drink, so nothing I'm particularly fond of all these years later.

Each time I think I've decided on THE place to mention, I think of another place I want to go to just as badly. I thought about cheating and running down a list of each place I so badly want to visit, but looking around I see that people have pretty much stuck to one place, so I'll refrain from cheating. This time.

So where is my current dream destination (current meaning today), as requested by the delightful ladies, Lexa and Julie as they celebrate their book releases?

Peru.

Peru combines so many things I'm looking for in a travel destination. The sentinel mountains, harboring the ruins of Machu Picchu. The exotic Amazon river teeming with species I've read so much about, but never seen. Pink river dolphins, people! Manatees. Giant river otters. Anacondas? EEK!

By Photographer: RubykPhotographer: Rubyk [CC-BY-SA-2.5 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5) or CC-BY-SA-2.5 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5)], via Wikimedia Commons

They even have their very own mystery of the ages: The Nazca Lines. 30 figures etched into the sands of the desert, fully visible only from the air, yet created well before they had the capability of human flight. How did they create these? And why? Oh, surely you guys know by now how much I love a good real-life mystery!?

By Unukorno (Own work) [CC-BY-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

I would delight in the rich cultural heritage of Peru. In learning more about the country. Of seeing the history outlined throughout the country, its buildings, ruins, and people.

So today? Today my dream destination would be Peru, for it's a place that has danced its way into my imagination and beckons for me to learn more, to dance, to celebrate, to explore.

Where would you go? Have you been to Peru? Is it on your list at all?

May you find your Muse.

The Warrior's Minions & Colorado Book Month

Hi Gang!

It's time to announce my A-to-Z Minions (or Warriors, we're still deciding)!

The following lovely ladies have taken on the daunting task of being my Minions/Warriors:

Dani of Entertaining Interests shares a lot of similar interests with me. You have only to look at her profile to see that she's into writing and photography, tattoos, movies, books, horror, etc., etc., etc. She co-hosts the weekly "Express Yourself" meme with Jackie (Bouquet of Books). Who isn't into horror and tats!? (Don't answer that, people!) We tattooed horror freaks need to stick together!

Julie has been a friend since she helped with the very first A-to-Z Road Trip, the post-challenge to the A-to-Z. On her author blog, Julie Flanders (previously called What Else is Possible?) you can find information about her debut novel, Polar Night. Julie is passionate about helping animals, and writes non-fiction for various publications. If you're lucky, you'll get to "meet" Clancy when you stop by.

Jeanette blogs at her self-named blog, Jeanette S. Andersen, where you can find examples of poetry and updates on the editing process of her book. As of Monday, you can find a snippet of her book there, so check it out! Jeanette is always friendly and has something positive to say, which is nice in an online world where we're assaulted by so much negative some days.

Terri blogs at Scribbler's Sojourn. She's had two stories, a romance and a paranormal romance, published in the anthologies Christmas Magic and Make Believe. As of January, she's announced a standalone novella, set to be published in June. You can find more news on her website. Oh, and she's a stay-at-home mom like me. I need to get my butt in gear!

I look forward to working with these ladies! Thank you to each of you for volunteering. I'm open for one more volunteer if there's anyone out there who's interested, so just drop me a note in the comments or email via my profile.

Now that you've met my wonderful minions (and please do head over to their blogs to meet them and welcome them), it's time for a new meme, but one that will only be during the month of March. You see, March has been declared Colorado Book Month (you can find the badge in my right sidebar), and I'm participating (thanks to Stacy S. Jensen, who sent me the link). Each Monday there is a bit of a meme, a different Colorado-related topic, entitled This Colorado Life.

You guys know from my [Mostly] Wordless Wednesday posts how much I love the state of Colorado, especially the outdoors elements. Today's topic is to share some of our favorite elevated spots in Colorado.

Pikes Peak is one of my favorite elevated spots. Did you know Kathy Lee Bates wrote "America the Beautiful" in 1893, here in Colorado Springs, inspired by Pikes Peak? Pikes Peak is "purple mountain majesties." In fact, she originally wrote it as a poem entitled "Pikes Peak." She re-titled it "America" for publication. It didn't become "America the Beautiful" until 1910 when it was put to music.

Though we've got more than our fair share of fourteeners (mountains over 14,000 feet in elevation), Pikes Peak will always be my favorite, the most gorgeous mountain I've seen to date (and I grew up near two different mountain ranges: the Cascades--also magnificent--and the Appalachians). She looms over the city of Colorado, our protector. And protect us she does, as Colorado Springs has temperate seasons and limited snowfall due to our positioning. I always know I'm home when I see Pikes Peak, in all of her majestic glory.

As far as mountain cities, I love Estes Park. It's a little town near Rocky Mountain National Park, which also happens to have The Stanley Hotel, the hotel Stephen King wrote The Shining in. It's a gorgeous old hotel, with that haunting element to put it as over the top cool.  In the summer, we go rent a boat to take out on Lake Estes, which the kids love.

If you're interested in Colorado Book Month, head over to LiteracyCO. At the very least, there's a great list of Colorado authors you won't want to miss.

What's your favorite spot in your state? Been to Colorado? What's your favorite thing about the part of Colorado you visited?

Don't forget to show my minions some love! They'll be investing a lot of hard work into the challenge in April.

May you find your Muse.